What's different?

I visit in lots of churches over the course of a year.  Some are growing and lively, and others... not so much.  What's the difference?  I've often wondered about that.  I don't think it has anything to do with age of the members or size of the congregation (and all the churches I visit have Christ at the center).  There are many possible factors, my observations are not scientific and I don't want to over simplify, but here are some thoughts about what I see:

For one thing, I think it has to do with orientation - is the orientation internal or external; is the congregation caring for itself or is it caring for others? The congregations that focus out and care for others seem to be healthier.  They don't wait for people to come to them, they go out and work among the people in their neighborhood; they know their neighbors and their neighbors' needs.

And is the focus on the past or on the present and future?  When the focus is on the past, it is easy to think that the good days seem to be gone. It is important to live in the present and to have a strong hope for the future.

I spoke with one Pastor of a growing church, and one that is engaged in their community in many ways, and he said "we didn't invent any of these things we are doing... the opportunities came to us - and God provided all we needed in order to do them." I'm guessing every community has needs, and opportunities to meet those needs. Some see them and others don't.  Perhaps it is as simple as: the ones who saw the opportunities were looking for them.

Wheat Ridge can be one of the ways that God provides what is needed, and can provide help when congregations want to focus out and get active in the present. Check out their grants and other resources.  And check out how you can help us with our granting ministry.

Read the comments...

OK, I'm new to this 21st Century way of doing things - especially when it comes to the electronic world - so forgive me if I state the obvious for everyone else:
READ THE COMMENTS!
Here is an example... Health and human care issues are my primary concern as I travel for Wheat Ridge Ministies, and in that arena I'm focused on applying current brain research to church, school and home.  But as I read in that arena (and Twitter has become an invaluable research tool) I've been interested in what gets said about education.  Hacking  at Education was a particularly interesting post, with so much more information available in the comments... good discussion, additional links, etc. 

Sometimes the comments can be a little hard to take with a wide variety of "it takes one to know one" silliness, and worse, that doesn't really help anyone.  But, generally, for thoughtful posts there are lots of thoughtful and helpful comments.  Now to just find the time to read it all!

Look to the Heavens...

"Look to the heavens..." An exhortation from Isaiah.

Back in the 1st Century we knew quite a bit about the sky, both day and night, as we used it for time and direction. Here in the 21st Century I've noticed that few people "look up" any more. Hardly anyone even knows the simple pattern of the moon, not to mention the constellations and eclipses and much more. We didn't know as much as your scientists know now, but we knew plenty. And I still get excited about looking up. Even more so now that I know some of the things you do, and can identify so much more of what is in the heavens with your amazing telescopes - even out in space.

Today was a total lunar eclipse and next week is the peak of a meteorite shower near the constellation you call Orion's Belt.

If the weather is cloudy you can check out some amazing live shots on line at Slooh.

What an amazing world God has created!

The Heavens Declare...

I came across another stunning video of the wonder of creation. This video is a night view of the milky way over Hawaii. (I've noticed many people in this country go day to day without ever really looking up... so many lights in the cities that you don't see much even when you do; too bad.) Check out the Hubble site for some more amazing pictures.

The video reminded me of how vast is the universe - and how great is our God. And we just celebrated Easter - a story that shows the vast love of God for his creatures. Christ is Risen!

iBand Christmas

I think Psalm 98 also includes this version of praising God. While this would have been amazing for my 1st Century friends to see, I'm pretty sure the angels were over the top incredible! Enjoy your celebration of Jesus' birth. Wait with expectation for his return! Live as his servant each day.

Looking Up...

Considering the way things work on the internet most of you have likely seen this already (I don't think that's what the Preacher has in mind when he wrote about nothing new under the sun...).

The "scale of the universe" web page is quite amazing. Things get pretty small (who knew what a yoctometer was?) and pretty large... and that is just what we know so far. The Hubble site gives some spectacular pictures of what's 'out there'. Put all of that together with my last post on brain pics and you have some glimpses of a wonderful creation. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are fearfully and wonderfully made! And in the midst of that big creation, God chose to come to earth as one of us (I'm partial to this version of the story). That's love for the little ones!

And Wheat Ridge is motivated by that love to help congregations love the little ones around them - even if they are not so young. Check out a great project in St Louis at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church.

What Time Is It?

I'm having trouble keeping track of the time - not the hours of the day but the seasons of the year. This time of year is really mixed up for you - Thanksgiving, Black Friday (seems to have earned a special holiday status of it's own), Advent (new for me - we saw the first coming of the King), and Christmas (good reason to keep celebrating the birth of God as man!).

But they all seem to be jumbled up with each other. Thanksgiving is buried with advertisements for Black Friday which is all about shopping for Christmas and - what happened to Advent? Lost in the shuffle.

I heard some interesting sermons at what has become home church for Dr Luke - Our Savior Lutheran Church in Gladwin, MI. Pastor Matthew Schultz preached on Thanksgiving about being thankful for God's gifts instead of being discontented after being bombarded with all the advertisements - you really can't seem to escape from them... and it appears you really NEED a lot of things you didn't know about. And then this past Sunday he preached about 'Black Ops' - being ready for the mission we have as Christ's followers. An interesting comparison of the birth of Christ to a covert operation, God inserting an 'agent' behind enemy lines; and then our part as 'agents' of Christ in our world.

In the end I leave you with a favorite word I used in the Gospel (pay special attention to verse 14, 42, 44 and 58) that I wrote: agalliao and agallisis - which loosely translates to PARTY!!! Exceeding great joy! We are joyful in the extreme these days, not because we have so much, or can get so much on sale, but because we are loved so much by Jesus who joined us in our humanity and saved us from our sin.

Facebook or face to face friendships

It is a very different world than I left in the 1st Century. We did everything face to face. Well, we did write letters, but even that was a bit unusual and not very wide spread.

I came across a blog about facebook and face-to-face friendships. Very interesting reading. Even the telephone was a major move away from face-to-face communication. Now, the internet allows anyone to be in contact (friends?) with hundreds and even thousands of people.

The blog concluded that, even with the huge numbers of people that you keep track of online these days, people still really are close friends with only about four to seven bosom buddies and that is true in most cultures the world over.

Friends in time of need; helping you in the hard times. Sometimes people don't have the kind of help they need. That's where Wheat Ridge comes in, supporting some great ministries all over the world who are the 'friend' that people may need. Ministries like the Helping Hands Free Clinic in Columbus, OH.

Wall Dogs and Community Pride

Back in the 1st Century I traveled all over the Mediterranean world with Paul, visiting many cities and preaching about Jesus. You could always tell where they had pride in their communities and where they did not. Still true today. I've spent some time with some friends from Plymouth, WI. They go to St John Lutheran Church and School - a Spirit filled place with a cool retreat center opportunity.

And the community obviously has pride in their town... the Cheese Capital of the world. It was home to the Cheese Exchange (you've heard of the Stock Exchange) and much more. This June they will host the Wall Dogs who will add 20+ murals to the sides of some of their buildings. The murals will depict much of the local history. Great idea. It took people with an idea and some energy who asked for help from inside and outside their community. Much can get done that way.

Wheat Ridge Ministries loves that kind of thinking: "What needs to be done around here that isn't being done yet?". When it is in the area of Health and Wellness, Wheat Ridge will partner with local congregations to be one of those outside sources of help. Check them out... and the Wall Dogs too.

YouTube - Yikes!

YouTube blows my mind! This is just fun to watch.

I can see why the 21st Century has so much trouble with distractions... hmmmm, let's see what else is out there...

The Play's The Thing!

We can be entertained watching movies in a theater, movies at home on TV, on Wii, on our computer... we can watch TV shows - on TV, and on the computer - hundreds of channels worth. But, the play IS the thing. Live entertainment was our only option back in the 1st Century. And I'm glad you still have it today.

For my money, live performance with skill in the writing, acting and producing, is very hard to beat. Something about the interaction between actors and audience that lifts the experience. I witnessed one of the better examples of that last night at Looking Glass Theater in Chicago and their signature piece: Looking Glass Alice - a remake (I'd never heard of the first one) of Alice in Wonderland. Great for all ages. The production has traveled a bit, so you might catch it in your part of the country. Don't miss it!

Wheat Ridge ministry has supported a project about parenting. I'm sure parents appreciate something you can take the kids to and not worry about what they will see or hear. Too much of what is in the list in the first paragraph is a problem that way!